PHYSIOLOGICAL AND SANITARY QUALITY OF THREE VARIETIES OF STORED HERBACEOUS COTTON SEEDS

Cotton seeds require special care during storage to maintain their physiological and sanitary quality. The present work evaluated the physiological and sanitary quality of seeds of three varieties of herbaceous cotton stored for three (Lot 1) and twelve months (Lot 2). Analyses were performed in the Laboratorio de Analise de Sementes e de Fitopatologia of the Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Areia-PB, and included tests for: emergence (E), vigor (IVE), green weight (PV), dry weight (PS) and the "Blotter test". Tests for physiological quality were performed in a randomized manner using a (3x2) factorial scheme, with four replicates with 25 seeds. Data on sanitary quality are presented according to the fungus index expressed as percentages. Seeds of the varieties CNPA 7H and BRS Verde demonstrated good levels of emergence after up to 12 months of storage, while seeds of the variety BRS Verde initially demonstrated dormancy, although this was overcome during storage. The fungus most commonly observed among the seed varieties in both storage lots was Rhizopus sp. The variety Aroeira do Sertao demonstrated the greatest incidence and variety of fungal species, a large majority of which were classified as storage fungi.